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KB ID: 1135

Configuring the Software iSCSI Initiator in an ESXi 5.x Host that Contains a Single NIC


 

Notes:

  • This configuration is not considered best practice by VMware and may result in reduced performance. For best results, iSCSI traffic should be on a physically separate LAN or VLAN and segregated from normal network traffic.
  • This procedure may require a reboot of the ESX host.
  1. Open the Vshpere client and select the ESX host to configure.
    1. Click the Configuration tab
    2. In the Hardware section, select "Networking"
    3. On the vSwitch, select "Properties"
      ESX_01.jpg
  2. On the vSwitch property sheet click the "Add" button at the lower left.
    ESX_02.jpg
  3. Select the radio button for "VMkernel" and click Next.
    ESX_03.jpg
  4. Give the VMkernel port a label. This should be something easily recognizable. Then click Next.
    ESX_04.jpg
  5. Assign an IP address and subnet mask to the VMkernel. This should be a static IP, but a dynamic IP address will work in most cases. Then click Next.
    ESX_05.jpg
  6. Verify that the VMkernel port name, the IP address and the vmnic are all correct, then click Finish.

    Note: If the IP address was set to dynamic, the address may not appear on this screen.
    ESX_06.jpg

  7. Verify that the new VMkernel port is shown and click Close.
    ESX_07.jpg
  8. The new VMkernel port should now be shown on the vSwitch.

    Note: If the iSCSI Software Adapter already exists, skip to step 11.


    ESX_08.jpg
  9. In the "Hardware" section, select the "Storage Adapters" section, then click Add.
    ESX_09.jpg
  10. On this dialog box, click OK.
    ESX_10.jpg
  11. In the "Hardware" section select "Storage Adapter". Make sure the iSCSI Software Adapter is selected and then click Properties on the right.
    ESX_11.jpg
  12. On the iSCSI Software Adapter property sheet, click Configure on the lower right.

    Note: If the "Status" shows as "Enabled", skip to step 15.
    01.png

  13. Select the checkbox to enable the adapter, then click OK.
    02.png
  14. The reboot prompt may appear. Click OK. This will NOT initiate a reboot. The reboot must be done manually later in the process.
    03.png
  15. Select the "Network Configuration" tab and click Add.
    04.png
  16. Select the VMkernel port that was created earlier then click OK.
    05.png
  17. Verify that the correct port shows up.
    06.png
  18. Select the "Dynamic Discovery" tab and click Add.
    07.png
  19. Type in the IP address for the TeraStation. Leave the port number at the default of 3260 and click OK.

    Note: If the TeraStation has multiple IP addresses it is only necessary to add one of them to the discovery tab.
    08.png

  20. Verify that the correct IP address shows up in the window and click Close.
    09.png
  21. A dialog box should pop up requesting a rescan. Click No.
    10.png

    Note: If you did not receive the reboot prompt, skip to step 27. If you received the reboot prompt earlier, at this point the host must be rebooted. Before an ESX host can be rebooted, it must first be put into maintenance mode.

  22. In the left column, right-click on the host and click Enter Maintenance Mode.
    11.png
  23. The "Confirm Maintenance Mode" dialog box will pop up. Click Yes.
    12.png
  24. Right-click on the host again and select Reboot.
    13.png
  25. The reboot confirmation dialog box will appear. A reason for the reboot can be included here, but is not required. Click OK.
    15.png
  26. Once you are able to log back in to the Vshpere client, right-click on the host and select "Exit Maintenance Mode".
    16.png
  27. On the "Configuration" tab select "Storage Adapters". Right-click the iSCSI Software Adapter and select "Rescan".
    17.png
  28. A message should appear at the bottom under "Recent Tasks" indicating that the "Rescan HBA" task is running. This can take up to 3-5 minutes, so please be patient.
    18.png
  29. When the rescan is complete, you should see some connected targets and devices listed. The number of devices should equal the number of iSCSI volumes created on the TeraStation. The number of connected targets and paths should be identical to each other, but not necessarily match the number of devices. At this point iSCSI is working and connected. Now we'll create a partition to store data. In ESX, this is referred to as a "Datastore".
    19.png
  30. On the "Configuration" tab in the "Hardware" section select "Storage" and click Add Storage.
    20.png
  31. Select the radio button for "Disk/LUN" and click Next.
    21.png
  32. You should see all the available volumes that were created on the TeraStation listed here. Note that the "Path ID" ends with the name given to the volume on the TeraStation. Select the volume you want to use to create the datastore and click Next.
    22.png
  33. Unless you know for a fact that VMFS-3 is needed, select the radio button for VMFS-5 and click Next (VMFS is the VMware File System).
    21.png
  34. Verify that the information shown is correct and then click Next.
    24.png
  35. Provide a name for the datastore. This name is only used by the system administrator and is completely arbitrary.
    25.png
  36. You can split a volume into multiple datastores, but it is recommended to subdivide the storage on the TeraStation and use the maximum space for each datastore. Click Next.
    26.png
  37. Verify that the information shown is correct, then click Finish.
    27.png
  38. At the bottom of the screen under "Recent Tasks" you should see the "Create VMFS Datastore" task running. Depending on the size of the datastore, this could take several minutes.
    28.png
  39. Once the task is complete, the new datastore should be listed on the "Configuration" tab in the "Storage" section.
    29.png

At this point the datastore is ready to use.

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